419 scam: "Col. William M. Barnett" <william_m_barnett@t-online.de> From Col. William M. Barnett

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "any lucrative business in your country" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Col. William M. Barnett" <william_m_barnett@t-online.de>
Reply-To: william_m_barnett@ymail.com
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 23:50:18 +0200
Subject: From Col. William M. Barnett

>From Col. William M. Barnett
1st Armored Division
United States Army,
Afghanistan.

Hello,
my name is Col. William M. Barnett from Washington, DC; a West Point
Graduate, presently serving in the U.S Military of the 1st Armored
Division here in Afghan.
I write asking for your indulgence in receiving USD$15,000,000 (Fifteen
Million Dollars) which I want to keep safely in your account or any
overseas account under your supervision.

This money was secretly secured in the war zone, and my desire and
purpose is to have you keep and or invest this USD$15,000,000 in any
lucrative business in your country and retain the funds until my
retirement. Bear in mind that this is a legitimate transaction, and the
only reason why strict privacy is advised, is that the result of
restrictions of the civil service laws in the United States.

In waiting of your urgent response,
Col. William M. Barnett

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam